For the first time in four years, the Avalanche are starting the season with their captain, Gabe Landeskog, in the lineup.
Landeskog, who turns 33 in November, returned during the playoffs last April after missing almost three full years of NHL action. He looked impressive in five games, recording a goal and three assists. Landeskog spent the entire offseason training for what will be his long-awaited return to NHL regular-season action.
READ MORE: Avalanche Game 1 at Los Angeles Kings: Lines, Notes & How To Watch
Things were a lot different the last time Landeskog dressed in a non-playoff game. Some of these names, especially on the blueline, say a lot about how long it’s been.
Landeskog plays regular-season hockey tomorrow. This was the Avs lineup in his last reg season game.
Burakovsky – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Landeskog – Kadri – Nichushkin
Newhook – Compher – O’Connor
Jost – Helm – Aube-Kubel
Makar – Toews
JJ – EJ
MacDermid – Murray
Kuemper
Francouz
— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) October 7, 2025
Colorado’s captain is set to skate on the second line with center Brock Nelson and winger Valeri Nichushkin. It’s the same line he spent most of his time with upon his playoff return.
The Avalanche’s fourth line will include winger Gavin Brindley. With him in the lineup, Parker Kelly will center the fourth line, meaning that fellow rookie Zakhar Bardakov will be a healthy scratch. It’s likely that Bardakov becomes the more permanent 4C in short order, but Brindley earned a roster spot with a strong training camp, and he’s being rewarded with a lineup spot on opening night.
Rather than have Kelly and two rookies on the fourth line, Kelly’s shift to center allows Joel Kiviranta to remain in the lineup, giving Brindley two dependable veterans to play with.
As for Bardakov, the Russian forward is entering his first NHL season after departing the KHL to join the Avs over the summer. Bardakov was acquired from the New Jersey Devils in a trade that sent Kurtis MacDermid back the other way.
On Monday, Bardakov, with help from a translator, was able to field questions from local media for the first time since training camp began.
He touched on why he made the leap to North America, mentioning that the front office had told him he had a great chance to make the lineup. He also spoke about the adjustments to moving to Denver with his wife and young child.
Bardakov is still learning English and wasn’t able to answer much without the help of the translator. But when I asked about experiencing his first NHL fight in the preseason, he smiled and began to respond in Russian before the translator had a chance to tell him what I had said. It was one of those examples of hockey being a universal language.
Overall, you can truly feel the excitement he has in making his NHL debut. I sense it’ll be a learning curve, especially with the number of minor penalties he took during preseason. But it’ll still be fun to watch his development, and to see if he’s able to keep up with the speed of the NHL for longer than just a few games.
Hear from Zakhar Bardakov & translator after finishing his first NHL preseason 🏒⬇️#GoAvsGo | @gs_off_ice pic.twitter.com/2byX4ojYZH
— Guerilla Sports (@guerillasports_) October 6, 2025
The Avs seem to have more of a no-nonsense attitude entering this season as compared to years past. They’re not mired in uncertainty with Landeskog or Valeri Nichushkin. Their second line center seems more dependable than ever, even dating back to October 2021 when Nazem Kadri was coming off of a playoff suspension and actually started his career year with a cold streak.
The team is upset with how things ended last May. And tonight begins their journey towards a bounce back playoff performance.
